OSF-Commissioned ALL THE WAY Wins Five IRNE Awards

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is delighted that the American Repertory Theatre (ART) production of Robert Schenkkan's All the Way, staged in the fall of 2013 and directed by OSF Artistic Director Bill Rauch, received five Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards. All the Way, which had its world premiere at OSF in 2012, is now playing on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre through June 29, 2014.

All the Way received Best New Play and Best Play Awards in the large theatre category. Bill Rauch received Best Director Award; Bryan Cranston, in the role of President Johnson, received Best Actor Award; and Dakin Matthews, in the role of Richard Russell/Emanuel Celler/Jim Martin, received Best Supporting Actor Award. For a complete list of the winners, visit the 2014 IRNE Awards Winners.

"This recognition for the production at the American Repertory Theater is further affirmation of the excellence of OSF, the world-class company that birthed this play, and our incredible audience who first embraced it," Rauch said. "Bringing All the Way to Cambridge had special personal meaning for me since I first discovered directing while I was an undergraduate at Harvard 30 years ago. I am so excited to be diving back into LBJ's world as we go into rehearsal for the sequel with Jack Willis and the other incredible OSF actors this summer."

All the Way was commissioned and developed through OSF's American Revolutions program, premiering at OSF in July 2012. The second part of Schenkkan's play about Lyndon Johnson's presidency, The Great Society, commissioned by and co-produced with Seattle Repertory Theatre, will premiere at OSF in July 2014 under the direction of Rauch.

The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards were founded by Beverly Creasey of the Journal Newspapers and Larry Stark of TheaterMirror in 1997. The IRNE Awards recognize the extraordinary wealth of talent in the Boston theatre community. IRNE Reviewers include among others: David Brooks Andrews, Sheila Barth, Jules Becker, Kay Bourne, Beverly Creasey, Shirley Esthimer, Richard Fahey, Guy Giampapa, Norm Gross, Nancy Grossman, Bryce Lambert, Beatrice Lee, Kilian Melloy and Larry Stark.